I have just read your article about the EpiPen law going into effect in the schools of Pennsylvania. I am quite sure that the state Dept. of Health – having been guided by names like Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Todd Green – believe that they are doing a great service to our children by this law. This notion is so far from reality that I am finally moved to say something publicly. Having been a physician in the field of allerggy for 35 years, I have gained enough clinical experience to know that there are many types of allergic reactions to food, chemical exposure etc. that can be treated in a much more benign way thaan the administration of an injection of a fixed dose of epinephrine. But here is the problem – epinephrine is the only treatment that conventional physicians are taught by the sponsers of medicine ( big Pharma), and thus this myth is passed on as fact – even to the point that it is considered “standard-of-care”, and has been incorporated into board certification exams of different medical “specialities”. Not all reactions require epinephrine – but that is the only option that they ( physicians and now school personal) are being given. Now – for a reaction that may well respond to a dose of baking soda dissolved in water, or under-the-tounge heparin ( neither of which has any side effects) – our kids will be exposed to all the potential side effects of epinephrine. You now have the position to move this error forward for a much better managenent of a common problem in our schools.
Thank you very much for your time and attention John M. Sullivan M.D.